Digital Conflict

By Kevin Coleman

Tracking the cyber underground

Few people would dispute the significant role the underground played in World War II. Now it appears this will occur again in the realm of cyber conflict. The problem is, for the most part they are not on our side.

The cyber underground has risen to levels that are surprising to me, and I have been following this for quite some time now. We are witnessing the buildup the cyber arms trade, and also cyber guns for hire operating in the shadows. Infiltrating the underground and cyber arms trade will take more than just some smart hackers to break into their systems and see what they are up to.

In addition, cyber intelligence requirements go far beyond technical information about vulnerabilities in systems and software and security tools. It will take good old-fashioned intelligence. We need the kind of intelligence that comes from feet-on-the-street — human intelligence. This is an area that requires increased investment and international recruitment of assets to enhance the current capabilities of intelligence organizations that are working to protect our nation.

Cyber intelligence must become a strategic priority. Technical cyber intelligence must be augmented by new and some traditional methods and sources used to provide insight and foresight into this complex and multifaceted area. Given the development of cyber weapons requires neither special infrastructure nor restricted materials or facilities, and that the information necessary to construct a cyber weapon is fairly available, this requires an intelligence effort like none seen before.